The minimum wage in 2023 will be R$1,294 and will not increase above inflation. The adjustment is included in the draft Budget Guidelines Law (PLDO) of 2023, shipped today (14) to the National Congress.
The adjustment follows the projection of 6.7% for the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) for this year. The estimate is also included in the PLDO.
The project also presented forecasts of R$ 1,337 for the minimum wage in 2024 and of R$ 1,378 for 2025. The projections are preliminary and will be reviewed in the PLDO of the coming years.
Until 2019, the minimum wage was readjusted according to a formula that predicted the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, sum of wealth produced in the country) of the previous two years plus the official inflation of the previous year.
Since 2020, the readjustment started to follow only the replacement of the INPC, because of the Constitution, which determines the maintenance of the purchasing power of the minimum wage.
According to the Ministry of Economy, each R$1 increase in the minimum wage has an impact of approximately R$389.8 million on the budget. This is because Social Security benefits, salary bonuses, unemployment insurance, the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) and various expenses are linked to the minimum variation.
The value of the minimum wage for the next year can still be changed, depending on the effective value of the INPC this year. By law, the President of the Republic is obliged to publish a provisional measure until the last day of the year with the minimum value for the following year.
In 2022, the minimum wage is R$ 1,212. The increase represented 10.18% compared to 2021, slightly higher than the accumulated INPC of 10.16%.
